How AI will make your restaurant managers more effective

By Christian Berthelsen|May 15, 2025|8:00 am CDT

We’re all familiar with the challenges facing managers. For a predominantly execution-based role, there’s a significant expectation that they’ll be able to juggle hours of admin responsibilities and countless operational decisions. Scheduling, HR, compliance, inventory management and staff training often fall on the general manager’s (GM) shoulders.

A 2025 survey of UK retail and hospitality workers found that three in five managers spend more than three hours a week scheduling, and 52% spend the same time again on attendance management. Little wonder, then, that half of managers say they don’t have enough time to coach or develop their team. Anecdotally, I know many feel they miss out on spending time on the floor with customers or feel pressure to do additional work before or after their shift.

It’s a role burdened by an inordinate amount of daily decisions. No one gets into hospitality to spend their day sitting at a computer screen, but most managers struggle to get away from them. Whether it’s last minute scheduling changes or quick orders for dwindling stock, GM’s have to make an endless number of decisions a day – and then action them.

As essential as these activities are, they also divert managers from other areas where they can add even more value: managing their teams and enhancing the guest experience. That’s why we have added the Fourth iQ app to our suite of AI-powered solutions. Available on mobile, tablet and desktop, the Fourth iQ app is an intuitive software companion designed to reduce the number of tactical decisions that get in the way of GM’s core responsibilities.

Actions not just insights

Fourth’s Customer Advisory Board (CAB) have told us that too many tech platforms promise ‘actionable insights’, with managers then required to interpret the output – meaning those actionable insights aren’t all that actionable.

Our CAB was clear that they didn’t want yet another solution that presented managers with a dashboard that expects them to then work out what action is required. We were laser-focused on ensuring the Fourth iQ app would instead deliver genuinely actionable recommendations.

The Fourth iQ app is deeply connected to Fourth’s workforce and inventory management solutions, which means recommended actions are driven by the forecasts, labour optimisation rules, inventory thresholds and much more that managers utilise to manage their restaurant operations. If demand shifts and a particular ingredient is running low, the manager doesn’t have to go check for this on a dashboard. Instead, the Fourth iQ app will proactively flag the issue and suggest how much to order. The manager can then simply approve the recommendation from their device for Fourth iQ to action. This keeps managers on top of running their restaurant and out on the floor with their team.

We’ve designed the app to strike the right balance between decision support and decision automation. In uniquely human activities, like adjusting a forecast due to an unexpected local event, Fourth iQ provides support. If the action is straightforward — like recommending how much commonly-used stock to order — it can be fully automated.

With real-time data available directly from the app, managers will also be able to keep an eye on critical information – like who’s clocked in and out, or current sales – without retreating to the office. Essentially, the Fourth iQ app will function like an operations manager, partnering with the GM, anticipating issues, and presenting solutions before they become a problem.

Empowering restaurant managers

Restaurant management should first and foremost be focused on people and delivery. Time spent stuck in front of a laptop screen or bogged down in endless operational decisions takes away from that. With the Fourth iQ app proactively suggesting actions and real-time information, managers will be empowered to do what they do best.

With a helping hand from the Fourth iQ App, managers can refocus their energy – making them more efficient, happier, and effective leaders capable of driving sustained business growth and exceptional guest experiences. I look forward to seeing the Fourth iQ app redefine how managers succeed every day throughout our current beta launch and a wider-scale launch later this year.